Stephen Silvio Carlino

Easter 2005

Before I close this year out with my blog, I must address something that is hard for me to talk about, but must be done.

As many of my friends already know, our family lost a truly spectacular person on October 25th, Sunday....my big brother, Stephen.

Never did I ever consider for a second that I might see one of my siblings pass away so young. Stephen was only 42 years old. My sister-in-law and three nephews are never far from my thoughts or prayers. My heart breaks for them, for all of us.

Stephen was a kindred spirit. He was someone who would help his friends, his co-workers, anyone...in any way he could. He was quick with a celebratory pat on the back or some sound, loving advice if you were struggling with something. He loved his family so very much, they were what he was about...and why he did all that he did.

As a brother...I couldn’t have asked for more. He always gave the best advice. He was my biggest fan (he loved this blog and would tell me to just ‘keep writing!’). He would sometimes get ticked off at me for not using my voice and it makes me smile to think about that now. He wanted me to sing more...do more with the gifts God gave me.

Amen, big brother...I will.

Missing Stephen was something I had already been used to...but missing someone because they’ve moved and missing them because they’re gone is very different. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish I could pick up the phone, or type an email to him.

Stephen moved away from the northeast to the southwest five years ago. Though I missed him dreadfully, I wanted him to be happy. Then, back in ’08, my hubby and I and our two children joined him out there. Although, as it turned out, staying in the southwest was not to be...for us. Worried about upsetting my brother, since he was tickled that we were living there, I tearfully told him one day that we would be moving back. Stephen was surprised, and although he wished we would give it more time, he said, “Look, I want you to be happy...I’d love for it to be here, but if it’s not, you need to go wherever is best for your family...because that’s what matters the most.”

I hugged him and silently thanked God for him. You see, he came all the way out to PA to drive a moving van with my hubby for three days across the country to move us out there. Now, we were moving back less than four months later. He didn’t scoff at us, he didn’t get upset...he just loved us. And that’s what Stephen did so well...he loved...and he showed it. He never failed to put himself in some else’s shoes. And if perchance he happened to be in the wrong...he would always be the first one to say, “I’m sorry.”

May we all strive to be that humble.

Memories throughout my childhood of Stephen and I are so clear to me now. Stephen and I singing Christmas carols, watching the Dukes of Hazard, Stephen working on his cars and teaching me all about 8 cylinder engines. He even taught me how to tell what kind of engine a car had by listening to it (he tested me often). Then, an added extra bonus was his girlfriend and my future sister-in-law, Stephanie. I loved her just as much as I loved him. She was really like a sister to me and still is. Then, he gave our family his three beautiful sons whom I love dearly. I am so thankful for these precious gifts he has left us all with. Especially the memories.

Ah...the memories.

Ever since I could remember, Stephen was there for me. One special memory stands out. It was back in my elementary school days. Back then, I had a lot of trouble in school and didn’t like it much. Okay, that’s putting it mildly...I HATED school. One of the reasons why was because I was bullied a lot in school...by people who did not understand the struggles that I faced every day. Our family had been going through some tough times. Kids can be cruel and they tend to pick on the ones that need the most love and understanding...ironically enough.

One particular day, close to the end of school, I was having a problem with one of the girls in school. She teased me mercilessly and made fun of me at every turn. I could do nothing without her saying something derogatory about me. Today, that wouldn’t fly...but then, teachers turned a blind eye and a deaf ear and often, they would join in. Sad, but true.

I wanted so much for people to see me differently...perhaps do something spectacular to ‘shut them up’ for a change.

I was walking out of the school yard to the bus stop on the corner. Past the ‘girl’ who kept whispering and saying some things loud enough for me to hear. I kept my feet moving as the snickering multiplied while I walked past. All of the sudden, the sound of a motor droned out above the din. A moped came buzzing into the lot with a mysterious looking guy on it, face hidden by his black helmet and shaded face guard. All of the girls behind me gasped and turned their attention from me to the mysterious guy on the bike. Hearing chatter behind me like: “Who is that?” and “Who’s he picking up?” and “Wow! Cool bike!” echoed the frantic beating of my heart.

Eventually the chattering became drowned out by the sound of the approaching bike. He pulled right up to me, and stopped...idling his engine. With a nod of his head and holding out his hand, he helped me onto the back of the bike. He handed me a helmet. Hearing the gasps, I looked up and saw a sea of faces with wide eyes. Suddenly possessing the moxie, I winked at our audience and put the helmet on. We sat there for a full moment, watching the jaws of everyone drop. My mysterious rider made sure to do a complete circle around the group of gawkers before pulling out of the school yard. I was smiling the biggest smile I had in a long time when I waved goodbye to those gawking faces. It was a moment I would never forget.

I hugged my mysterious rider tightly. He may as well been a knight in shining armor on a white horse that day.

I knew that the following Monday at school there would be questions and talk about who it could have been...I smiled to myself.

They would never know who was under that helmet.

They would never know that he was one of the best brothers any girl could ever have...a brother who somehow, instinctively knew that day, I needed him so much.

Stephen, you blessed my life so many times, just by being who you were. I hope where you are, you know that.

Till we meet again big bro, I promise to laugh more, love more and thank God for each day...to live life to the fullest.

Until I hear the sound of that moped again.

-The Mamasaurus

Merry Christmas 2009

It happened. Finally. That magical moment that, as a parent, we wait for. That moment when our children rub their sleepy eyes, hop excitedly out of bed and rush downstairs to see the presents Santa left with a look of wonder on their faces.

Last year my little ones weren't very aware of the Christmas tree or that Santa was leaving them presents. This year, it was very different, much to our delight. Seeing them get so excited was just pure joy. It will be etched in my memory forever.

To make things even more special, G.G. (short for Great-Grandma) was here to join in the festivities on Christmas morning. She loved watching the kids tear open their presents and laughed at their excited antics when they saw what was inside.

The gifts that were big hits this year?

Well, there's the dress up Disney Princess trunk for our little princess:

And my little guy's 'Little Einstiens' game for his VSmile:

Hubby got a Ryobi saw, which he really needed. I got Wii Resort...which we still have yet to unpack and play.

One of the most enojoyable moments was watching Annaliese open the gift her brother got her at his Christmas Fair in school. He was given five dollars and a list of people to buy for, to which we only put his sister's name.

Annaliese opening Marcus' gift:

Aww, thanks Marcus!

It's a froggy puppet!

Click title for slideshow: Christmas '09

Most definitely the best gift of all was family and the time to savor the holiday with them.

That gift surpasses all others.

Merry Christmas and a Happy, Blessed New Year to all.

- The Mamasaurus

Life in Fast Forward

Whoooosh! Did you blink? That's how fast time has moved for me! I cannot believe my last post was in APRIL!! Yikes!! Slideshows are added to catch everyone up on our amazing children and how much they've grown over the past six months.

Summer was a blast! Visits to Nanny's pool, a visit to Dutch Wonderland in beautiful Lancaster, PA, splashin' in the kiddie pool on our deck and lots of visits with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. Ah summer...you went too fast!

Click the link beneath the photo for the complete slideshow, 'Summer Fun!'.

Summer Fun Slideshow

Then all of the sudden, summer was coming to an end and Marcus' first day of school was here. I choked back tears watching him board the bus for the first time. I just can't believe he's in school now...where has the time gone?

Here's a photo from that day. Click on the link below for the full slideshow, 'Marcus' First Day of School'.

Marcus' First Day of School Slideshow

Wow, Annaliese has been growing super-fast! She's also very much a 'girlie' girl...but don't let her love for pink, purple and all things 'Disney princess' fool you...you'll often find my precocious little girl wearing her 'dress up heels', holding a baby in one hand and a hammer in the other. She'll use a toy tool bench and tool box better than any Bob the Builder!

One day I saw her putting her trike upside down and taking a toy wrench to the tires. "I fik it Mommy!", she said, and continued to turn the wrench around the fake lug nut. Holy Smokes! She even knows what to turn and how to turn it! Where did she learn THAT from?

Here's a cute slideshow of Annaliese showing off her 'dress up' heels (I bought from the Dollar Tree, LOVE that store). She walks in them like a super-model (this must be in our genes, ladies) and knows how to stand in them, balancing her weight like a pro. Click the link for the slideshow.

'High' Heels Slideshow

Sometimes I wish I could freeze time and keep them little for a bit longer. Lately it seems as if their maturing and growing is stuck on 'fast-forward'. It's amazing and sad at the same time. I still remember the tiny little babies they were:

Marcus, 8 months old

Annaliese, 9 months old

Although they're still both babies, really, I miss the creeping-not-crawling-yet, pulling-to-stand, awkward-first-steps days. However, I look forward to the future with our two precious ones and all of the ways they'll continue to delight and amaze us!

God bless!

- The Mamasaurus 9/27/09

Balloons, Stroller Derbies & Easter Dresses...

Late March thru Late April 2009

BALLOONS!

Well Spring is finally underway and I don't know about you, but I'm SO thrilled about that. Still, it was rather fun coming up with new and exciting things for the kids to do indoors. One of their favorites is the balloon pit. Special thanks to my dear friend Robin, for giving us the ball pit (complete with all of the colorful balls).

One day in late March I decided to get it out and finally use it. I was able to find the netted pit but the balls were hard to reach, in a box stacked behind others that remained unopened due to our move back from Arizona last November. So I substituted balloons (gotta love the dollar tree) for the balls.

The result?

Sheer delight!

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OUTDOOR STROLLER DERBY!

One unusually warm day in early April, the kids and I decided to get out and enjoy our back deck. We tossed around some balls and the kids had a stroller derby (circling Mommy). I shot some great pictures that day. The joy of finally being outside in the warm weather is reflected in their eyes.

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Three Easter Dresses

Those of my fellow Moms who have little girls will most likely agree with me when I say: It's darned difficult to choose from all of those cute girl outfits out there! There are so many sweet and pretty things for girls! Between shoes, bows, hats, skirts, shirts, dresses...not to mention those adorable little tights in all different colors...it's really hard narrowing it down to one outfit for a special occasion.

This past Easter was no different. I wound up having to choose between two purchased dresses, one hand-me-down never worn and one hand-me down worn just once. One night I had Annaliese model three of the dresses for her Daddy and I.

The first dress was my favorite, a frilly yellow dress with embroidered flowers...alas, it was too big. I know she liked it best too because as soon as I put it on her, she began to twirl around. I think I have a little model on my hands!

Here's a slideshow of Annaliese's modeling debut:

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All in all, it's been a pretty good spring so far. I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to the landscape greening up, great playground weather and longer sunshine hours.

Happy Spring to all!

-The Mamasaurus

In Mommy's Shoes

And She Can Walk in Them Too!

Perhaps it's in our female DNA...that gene that

gives us the ability to walk in heels from the age of two.

My daughter. In heels.

Gulp.

I'll have to keep that closet door closed from now on...

seeing her in heels is waaay too premature for me...even if

the delighted look on her face is priceless.

-The Mamasaurus

Land and Sea March 2009

The Spell of The Ocean...

What possesed us to travel to the beach in March?

It was a 45 degrees...without the wind!

After collecting some unusual shells, throwing sand

(Marcus adored the sand...see photo) and playing

'chicken' with the surf (Annaliese loved this...I'm

sure her delight rang up and down the shoreline),

I decided it was time to get our little family in the car.

A few baby wipes (more than a few) and two sippy cups

later, we were on our way home. Almost home, I realize

our little darlings succumbed to the salty sea air, sound

asleep with cheeks still pink.

Yep, that's why we ventured out to Cape May.


-The Mamasaurus

She's TWO! A slideshow of the festivities...

Wow! Time passes so quickly!

We cannot believe our little girl is TWO!

Where did the time go?

Our little Princess sure had a great

time celebrating! Party at Aunt Jenn's,

party at Grandma's and her favorite: a

day at Chuck E. Cheese's...wow!

I knew we were getting close to 2

when she pitched a fit one day over the shoes

I put on her...she wanted to wear her brown ones

(they did not match her outfit). Yep, that's my girl.

Two years old and she's already got a fashion opinion.

I'm in trouble.

-The Mamasaurus

S P I D E R G I R L ! ! !

"How did she get up there?"

She's tiny...she's light-weight, she's flexible as a rubber band. She can scale six foot book cases in a minute flat. She can craft a ladder out of books/pillows/boots/dolls/trains/tissue boxes/etc. to climb to the top of the TV center. She has been known to give her mother gray hair and her father a look of pride.

She's SPIDERGIRL....and she scares the heck outta me.

My litte girl climbs EVERYTHING. So what, you say? All kids like to climb, you retort?

You. Don't. Understand.

EVERYTHING and ANTHING can be used to hoist her body to wherever she likes. She's the mini-McGuiver of ladder making. Sometimes, I can't believe what she uses to climb. I've seen her scale the OUTSIDE of a stair case, nearly to the top before I found her. She gets into places and I have no idea how she got there.

One day I might find her clinging from the ceiling.

My children can't have anything in their room that can be used for climbing...no bookcases, no chairs or tables, no toychests...heck, even books can be stacked and used as a platform. She's even used her brother's train to climb up to the top of her dresser. She's even used her brother! Marcus was quite insulted when he realized his sister saw his back as a means to climb up to the TV!

Baby gates are just a 'bump in the road' to her. She climbs right over them, resting her dainty little foot on nothing but air...it's the strength and flexibility in her lower ab's that gets her over. While it terrifies me that almost no place in my home is safe for my daughter, I can't help but feel rush of pride when I see her climb something impossible.

I wish I had abs like that.

Her last triumph was the top of Mount Kitchen...the play kitchen in their room. Assessed it, scaled it and proceeded to try to do happy dance at the top. Fortunately for her (and me) I heard her saying "No, no don't!" to her brother because he saw his opportunity to get back at his sister for turning him into a ladder...he was shaking Mount Kitchen with all his might.

I stopped the earthquake just seconds before my daughter tumbled to the playroom floor. To think this all happened before nap time. My husband suggested perhaps we buy an indoor gym.

I'm sure she'll love it. She's been searching for something to aide her climb of Mount Refrigerator in our real kitchen for quite a while.

My husband decided to lock all of the drawers in their room with child locks. This way she can't open them to make a staircase up to the top of the chest. I thought to myself, "A-HA! Now we've gotcha! No more climbing for you missy!" I did feel bad though when she realized her Daddy had taken her jungle gym away. My usually sweet-natured little girl threw a fit...rolling around on the floor and throwing her toys. Still, I felt victorious and figured, problem solved!

My victory was short-lived.

The other day I watched as she climbed to the top of her brother's dresser to explore the humidifier using nothing but the knobs on the closed and locked drawers. (See posted picture at beginning of entry).

Rock climbing-101.

I picked my jaw up off the floor, took a picture of her latest climb and gingerly picked her up from the dresser. I planted both her feet on the floor saying, "No climb!". She just looked up at me like, "Are you kidding? That was sweet!".

Then I went online to surf Craig's list for an indoor jungle gym. I also looked into rock climbing at the Y.

Hey, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

- The Mamasaurus